Foldable escape ladders and method of making the same



Feb. 26, 1963 K. c. M LEOD 3,078,954

FOLDABLE ESCAPE LADDERS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 19, 1962 INVENTOR KE YON C. WLEOD United States Patent 3,078,954 FGLDABLE ESQAPE LADDERS AND METHGD 0F MAKING THE SAME Kenyon C. MacLeod, 167 Madison Ave, Toronto, Gntario, Canada Filed Feb. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 174,666 1 Claim. (Cl. 182-196) This invention relates to an improved foldable escape ladder and method of making the same, and a primary object of the invention is to provide a foldable escape ladder which is easily and economically manufactured, sturdy and reliable in use, and easily stored and readily available for immediate use.

Foldable ladders of the character involved are generally used during emergencies, such as fire escapes, means to board or disembark from a ship, etc. In view of the fact that ladders of this character are not used quite often, it is necessary that they be relatively inexpensive, durable over long periods of time during storage, and be relatively light and take up a small amount of space when stored.

Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide a novel foldable ladder of the character mentioned above which includes braided or sheath-like side rails formed over a core and extending through a transverse aperture in a rung element and having another core piece inserted therein, both portions of the side rail on opposite sides of the rung element being of a larger crosssection than the aperture and accordingly forming an abutment to maintain the rung elements in their proper position along the side rail.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of constructing a foldable emergency or escape ladder of the character involved wherein side rails are formed and inserted through apertures in the rung elements and core elements are inserted between the portions of the side rails disposed between adjacent rung elements.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claim and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the novel foldable ladder of the invention, portions of the side rail being broken away to show the nature of the construction;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the plane of line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, portions being broken away for purposes of clarity; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the manner in which core elements are inserted in the side rail portions between adjacent rung elements.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a fragmentary portion of a foldable or flexible ladder is indicated generally at and comprises a pair of side rails indicated generally at 12 and 14 and a plurality of vertically spaced rung elements or members, indicated generally at 16.

The rung elements or members include a tubular body member 18 formed from aluminum, plastic, etc., and preferably having a rectangular cross-section in order to afford a relatively flat foot engaging upper surface 20. Extending transversely and inwardly at opposite ends of the rung elements 16 through upper and lower side portions 22 and 24, respectively, are apertures 26 and 28, respectively. The apertures 26 and 28 may have secured therein suitable grommet elements 30* for the purpose of relieving the relatively sharp edges thereof and reducing chatting on the side rails 12 and 14.

The side rails 12 and 14 comprise an elongated, continuous sheath member 32 which in the preferred embodiment comprises a plurality of braided textile threads 34 formed from a synthetic material such as nylon or the like. The side rails 12 and 14 have a cross-section above and below the rung elements 16 which is greater than the cross-section of the apertures 26 and 28. It Will be observed that this greater cross-section is maintained by forming the tubular sheath member 3-2 about an elongated core of rope or the like, as indicated at 36. The core 36 is eliminated in that portion 38 of the sheath 32 which passes through the apertures, i.e., grommets 36, disposed in the apertures 26 and 23.

The method of producing the flexible ladder is as follows:

The sheath 32 is loosely braided and inserted through the grommet elements 3%} in apertures 26, 28 of the rung members. Next, the braided sheath is opened suhiciently to insert a core 36 into that portion of the side rails disposed between adjacent rung elements 16. In this manner, the portions 38 are formed, and those portions above and below the rung elements will have an increased cross-section to abut the under-surface of the rung elements when the ladder is in use. The core elements in the side rails thus maintain the rung elements in an operative position by forming enlarged abutment elements below the rung elements to sustain a users weight.

As previously mentioned, the side rails and sheath members may be constructed from a suitable especially strong synthetic thread or the like, and by constructing the side rails by using synthetic thread, and using aluminum, for example, for the purpose of constructing the rung elements, a relatively light and easily manipulable foldable ladder is obtained. Such a ladder is relatively inexpensive, is readily folded, and is easily stored.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore, the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A foldable ladder comprising elongated, flexible side rails, a plurality of rigid rung elements maintained in substantially fixed, longitudinally spaced relation on said flexible side rails, said rung elements including transverse apertures inwardly of the ends thereof and through which said side rails extend, said side rails comprising a tubular sheath, and flexible stufier core segments disposed in said tubular sheath, each core segment extending continuously in said sheath between adjacent rung elements and terminating in said tubular sheaths at opposite ends substantially adjacent upper and lower surfaces of said rung elements, increasing the diameter of said flexible side rail above and below said rung elements and maintaining said rung elements in substantially longitudinally spaced relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 303,055 Ryer Aug. 5, 1884 638,600 Schirmer Dec. 5, 1899 2,585,671 Morcaldi D Feb. 12, 1952 3,033,310 McLeod May 8, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 468,858 Italy Feb. 6, 1952 

